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Lyndon Arthur picks Artur Beterbiev to defeat Dmitry Bivol on Saturday night if he hasn’t grown old overnight since his last fight. He says he expected Beterbiev to get to Bivol at some point in the fight.
The light heavyweight contender Lyndon fought WBA champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) on December 23rd last year in Riyadh and lost a wide 12-round unanimous decision. He also sparred with Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) in the past, and he could tell the difference in power between them.
Lyndon says Bivol didn’t hit as hard as he thought he would going into their contest. He lost the fight to Bivol by the scores of 120-107, 120-107, and 120-107. In the seventh round, Lyndon hurt Bivol with a left to the body, causing him to retreat. For the remainder of the fight, Bivol seemed to fight less aggressively after that round.
Lyndon, 33, says he thinks it would hurt if Beterbiev hit him with 10-oz gloves because with either hand because he hits to hard.
“When I was in there with Bivol, I thought, ‘He doesn’t hit as hard as I thought he would,’” said Lyndon Arthur to Pro Boxing Fans about his fight against Dmitry Bivol last year on December 23rd. “I was able to defend a lot more punches than I thought I would.
“I’ve been in with both of them. I was sparring Beterbiev. It’s not the same as a fight, but the punches he throws to be able to take them with 10-ounce gloves at the pace he brings them and the resilience he comes into the ring with, it’s going to be hard for Bivol to keep him off.
“He definitely hits hard with 10-ounce gloves with both hands, and it would hurt to get hit with 10-ounce gloves,” said Lyndon about Beterbiev.
It’s too bad Lyndon never fought Beterbiev because that would have given him more room to compare him to Bivol. He can only go by now by sparring with Beterbiev while wearing bigger gloves and headgear.
“Bivol, it’s his combination punching, his distancing, and the way he gets in range. Before you know it, he’s there. Beterbiev, it’s his relentless and his ability to come forward. He’s very good at boxing. Because he knocks everyone out, everyone thinks he’s a come-forward fighter, but he was on the Russian team for a long time in the amateurs.”
Bivol jabs and moves forward quickly to throw two shots and then retreats. Bivol almost always throws two punches and then retreats. It’s predictable, and that might be one of the reasons why Lyndon was able to pick up Bivol’s tendencies during their fight. It was always the same: jab, move forward, use the left-right combination, and retreat. There’s no variation at all, ever.
“He had a long amateur career. He’s seen a lot of styles. He’s very good at boxing. Yeah,” said Lyndon when asked if Beterbiev would defeat Bivol. “But Bivol could box his head off for 12 rounds. That could happen.”
When people watch Beterbiev, they see him attacking with power shots and blitzing his opponents with nonstop pressure. It doesn’t look like he’s boxing. He’s throwing power shots, and trying to chop them down. But he is boxing, jabbing, and setting up his shots like a skilled boxer.
Casual fans don’t see it, but they don’t know the sport well enough to see his skills. Even hardcore fans who are too lazy to watch Beterbiev’s entire fights to form an opinion they’re not able to see what he’s doing.
“As long as Beterbiev has got something left in the tank and didn’t grow old overnight. If he’s not showing age, I believe Beterbiev will get him,” said Lyndon.
Fans’ only question mark about Beterbiev is whether his surgically repaired right knee is 100% ready for the fight. He had surgery last May to repair a torn meniscus in his knee, and that’s not much time for him to rehab it.
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